Systems and methods for facilitating media playback in online auctions

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for facilitating media playback in online auctions. A method may include detecting an indication of an auction event associated with an online vehicle auction for a first vehicle. The method may also include determining current auction information associated with the online vehicle auction. The method may further include determining auction event information associated with the auction event. Additionally, the method may include identifying, based at least in part on the current auction information and the auction event information, one or more media files for playback on a bidder device. The method may also include transmitting, to the bidder device in response to the indication of the auction event, the one or more media files for playback on the bidder device according to a determined sequence, which may result in acoustic output of one or more auctioneer phrases.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure claims priority to and is a continuation-in-partof U.S. application Ser. No. 14/729,673, filed Jun. 3, 2015, whichclaims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/296,272, filed Jun. 4, 2014, which are both hereinincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to online auctions, and moreparticularly to facilitating media playback in online auctions.

BACKGROUND

Currently, online auctions are popular is a means for buying and sellinggoods and services. However, such online auctions may lack theinteractions associated with live, physical auctions conducted by anauctioneer, including, for example, the auctioneer's canter, which mayexcite the auction participants. In other instances, the auctions mayrequire the technical and logistical challenges of broadcasting aphysical auction or of broadcasting a live stream of a human auctioneer.Therefore, in certain instances, online auctions may be less engagingand drive less activity for a given product or service, i.e., fail toresult in market realization, when compared to live auctions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying figures and diagrams,which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a system for facilitating media playback in online auctionsaccording to one or more example embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a data flow diagram related to facilitating media playbackin online auctions according to one or more example embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a method for facilitating media playbackin online auctions according to one or more example embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows user interface for creating an online vehicle auction,according to one or more example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth.However, it should be understood that embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not beenshown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of thisdescription. References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “exampleembodiment,” “various embodiments,” and so forth indicate that theembodiment(s) of the present disclosure so described may include aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not everyembodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Furthermore, the repeated use of the phrase “in oneembodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, althoughit may.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinaladjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common objectmerely indicates that different instances of like objects are beingreferred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so describedmust be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking,or in any other manner.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the term “device” refers, ingeneral, to an electronic communication device, both wired and wireless,and more particularly to one or more of the following: a portableelectronic device, a telephone (e.g., cellular phone, smartphone), acomputer (e.g., laptop computer, tablet computer, desktop computer,wearable computer), a portable media player, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a kiosk computer for public use, or any otherelectronic device having a networked capability.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the term “server” may referto any computing device having a networked connectivity and configuredto provide one or more dedicated services to clients, such as a mobiledevice. The services may include storage of data or any kind of dataprocessing. One example of a central server may include a web serverhosting one or more web pages. Some examples of web pages may includeauction web pages, dealer web pages, bidder web pages, vehicleinformation web pages, and/or the like. Another example of a server maybe a cloud server that hosts web services for one or more computerdevices.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the term “web page” maycorrespond to one or more web pages as part of one or more websites,mobile-optimized websites or automatically-optimized websites.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a method isprovided. The method may include detecting, by a service provider servercomprising one or more processors, an indication of an auction eventassociated with an online vehicle auction for a first vehicle. Themethod may also include determining current auction informationassociated with the online vehicle auction. The method may furtherinclude determining auction event information associated with theauction event. Additionally, the method may include identifying, basedat least in part on the current auction information and the auctionevent information, one or more media files for playback on a bidderdevice. The method may also include determining a sequence in which toplay the one or media files. For example, the method may also includeautomatically sequencing the one or more media files for playback on thebidder device. The method may also include transmitting, to the bidderdevice in response to the indication of the auction event, the one ormore media files for playback on the bidder device according to thedetermined sequence. The playback of the one or more media filesaccording to the determined sequence may result in acoustic output ofone or more auctioneer phrases. The method may also include updatingand/or resequencing the one or more media files for transmission to thebidder device based on the indication of an auction event received fromthe bidder device.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a system isprovided. The system may have at least one processor and at least onememory storing computer-readable instructions. When the instructions areexecuted by the at least one processor, the instructions may cause theat least one processor to detect an indication of an auction eventassociated with an online vehicle auction for a first vehicle. Theinstructions may further cause the at least one processor to determinecurrent auction information associated with the online vehicle auction.Moreover, the instructions may cause the at least one processor todetermine auction event information associated with the auction event.The instructions may further cause the at least one processor toidentify, based at least in part on the current auction information andthe auction event information, one or more media files for playback on abidder device. The instructions may also cause the at least oneprocessor to determine a sequence in which to play the one or mediafiles. Additionally, the instructions may further cause the at least oneprocessor to transmit, to the bidder device in response to theindication of the auction event, the one or more media files forplayback on the bidder device according to the determined sequence. Theplayback of the one or more media files according to the determinedsequence may result in acoustic output of one or more auctioneerphrases.

According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium is provided. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may have embodied thereon instructionsexecutable by one or more processors. The instructions may cause the oneor more processors to detect an indication of an auction eventassociated with an online vehicle auction for a first vehicle.Furthermore, the instructions may cause the one or more processors todetermine current auction information associated with the online vehicleauction. Additionally, the instructions may cause the one or moreprocessors to determine auction event information associated with theauction event. The instructions may also cause the one or moreprocessors to identify, based at least in part on the current auctioninformation and the auction event information, one or more media filesfor playback on a bidder device. The instructions may also cause the atleast one processor to determine a sequence in which to play the one ormedia files. Moreover, the instructions may cause the one or moreprocessors to transmit, to the bidder device in response to theindication of the auction event, the one or more media files forplayback on the bidder device. The playback of the one or more mediafiles according to the determined sequence may result in acoustic outputof one or more auctioneer phrases.

The above principles, and perhaps others, are now illustrated withreference to FIG. 1, which depicts a system 100 for facilitating mediaplayback in online auctions. The system 100 may include one or morebidder devices 102 associated with one or more bidders, such as bidders101. The bidder device(s) 102 may be in communication with, via one ormore network(s) 118, one or more service provider server(s) 120, and oneor more seller device(s) 138.

In general, the bidder device 102 may refer to any type of electronicdevice, and, more particularly, may refer to one or more of thefollowing: a wireless communication device, a portable electronicdevice, a telephone (e.g., cellular phone, smart phone), a computer(e.g., laptop computer, tablet computer), a wearable computer device, aportable media player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any otherelectronic device having a networked capability. The bidder device(s)102 may include one or more computer processors 104, and a memory 106storing an operating system (O/S) 108 and a bidder module 110. Inaddition, the bidder device(s) 102 may include one or more network andI/O interfaces 114, and a display 116. In certain embodiments, thebidder device(s) 102 may include one or more sensors capable ofgathering information associated with a present environment of thebidder device(s) 102, or similar hardware devices, such as a camera,microphone, antenna, a gesture capture or detection device, or GlobalPositioning Satellite (GPS) device.

The computer processors 104 may comprise one or more cores and may beconfigured to access and execute (at least in part) computer-readableinstructions stored in the memory 106. The one or more computerprocessors 104 may include, without limitation: a central processingunit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction setcomputer (RISC), a complex instruction set computer (CISC), amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, a field programmable gate array(FPGA), or any combination thereof. The bidder device 102 may alsoinclude a chipset (not shown) for controlling communications between theone or more processors 104 and one or more of the other components ofthe bidder device 102. In certain embodiments, the bidder device 102 maybe based on an Intel® architecture or an ARM® architecture, and theprocessor(s) and chipset may be from a family of Intel® processors andchipsets. The one or more processors 104 may also include one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or application-specificstandard products (ASSPs) for handling specific data processingfunctions or tasks.

The memory 106 may include one or more computer-readable storage media(CRSM). In some embodiments, the memory 106 may include non-transitorymedia such as random access memory (RAM), flash RAM, magnetic media,optical media, solid state media, and so forth. The memory 106 may bevolatile (in that information is retained while providing power) ornon-volatile (in that information is retained without providing power).Additional embodiments may also be provided as a computer programproduct including a transitory machine-readable signal (in compressed oruncompressed form). Examples of machine-readable signals include, butare not limited to, signals carried by the Internet or other networks.For example, distribution of software via the Internet may include atransitory machine-readable signal. Additionally, the memory 106 maystore an operating system 108 that includes a plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions that may be implemented by the computerprocessor to perform a variety of tasks to operate the interface(s) andany other hardware installed on the bidder device 102. The memory 106may also store content that may be displayed by the bidder device 102 ortransferred to other devices (e.g., headphones) to be displayed orplayed by the other devices. The memory 106 may also store contentreceived from the other devices. The content from the other devices maybe displayed, played, or used by the bidder device 102 to perform anynecessary tasks or operations that may be implemented by the computerprocessor or other components in the bidder device 102.

The memory 106 may also include an operating system (O/S) 108, which mayprovide an interface between other application software executing on thebidder device 102 and hardware resources of the bidder device 102. Morespecifically, the operating system 108 may include a set ofcomputer-executable instructions for managing hardware resources of thebidder device 102 and for providing common services to other applicationprograms (e.g., managing memory allocation among various applicationprograms). The operating system 108 may include any operating system nowknown or which may be developed in the future including, but not limitedto, any bidder operating system, any server operating system, anymainframe operating system, or any other proprietary or freely availableoperating system.

The memory 106 may also include a bidder module 110, which may beconfigured to enable a bidder's access to one or more services offeredby a service provider (e.g., via the service provider server(s) 120). Assuch, the bidder module 110 may include a dedicated application that maybe executed by the bidder devices 102. In other implementations, thebidder module 110 may provide a web interface (e.g., web browsingcapabilities) to access one or more web pages provided by the serviceprovider servers 120. The service offered by the service provider mayinclude one more online auctions, such as online vehicle auctions and/orany other type of auctions. For example, the bidder module 110 mayprovide an interface for the bidder 101 to interact with an onlinevehicle auction (e.g., choosing a particular vehicle auction, bidding ona vehicle in the auction, requesting vehicle information, etc.). It willbe appreciated that while certain examples and description may refer toan online vehicle auction, the systems and methods described herein mayalso apply to any type of online auction.

In some embodiments, the bidder module 110 may also interact with theservice provider server(s) 120 to facilitate playback of media by thebidder device 102 in response to an auction event. For instance, aconventional auction may include a live auctioneer to articulate variousauction events. As used herein, an auction event may include, but is notlimited to, a welcome announcement, an auction start time, an auctioninitiation, a vehicle introduction, an auction bid, a new auction askprice, an auction call for more bids, a sold vehicle, an unsold vehicle,a time remaining threshold, a sale call, an elapsed time with nobidding, an auction end time, a no-sale call, and/or any other eventthat may occur during an auction. Additionally, the auctioneer mightprovide auction banter or chant intended to build and/or maintainexcitement in the auction process. In contrast, an online vehicleauction provided by the service provider server(s) 120 may not include alive auctioneer to announce various auction events that may occur duringthe online auction. Instead, the bidder module 110 may be configured toplay back one or more media files in response to occurrence of anauction event (e.g., a bid made by any of the bidders in the onlineauction). For instance, the media files may be stored by the serviceprovider server(s) 120, and in response to the auction event, theservice provider server(s) 120 may provide the media files to the bidderdevice 102 and/or bidder module 110. To this end, the media files mayinclude prerecorded audio, video, text, and/or other types of mediafiles that may be played back by the bidder module 110 depending on thetype of auction event.

In other embodiments, the media files may be transmitted to the bidderdevice 102 before an online auction begins. For instance, the mediafiles may be stored in memory 106 and/or another storage componentassociated with the bidder device 102. If the bidder device 102determines an occurrence of auction event (e.g., receives an indicationof an auction event from the service provider server(s) 120), the biddermodule 110 may be configured to identify the appropriate media files inresponse to the auction event. Additionally, the bidder module 110 maybe configured to determine an order or sequence in which to play theidentified media files and execute playback of the identified mediafiles according to order or sequence.

Additionally, the media files may be associated with differentauctioneer phrases. For instance, some media files may includeauctioneer announcements of numbers (e.g., “thirty-five,” “thirty-six”,etc.). Some media files may include generic phrases that may be utteredby auctioneers, such as “can I get a” or “do I hear a” or “thank you.”Other media files may include auctioneer announcements identifying themake, model, and/or the like of a vehicle, such as “Chevy” or “Toyota”or “Honda Accord.” Still other media files may include auctioneerannouncements of various options, trims, packages, that may beassociated with a vehicle, such as “navigation” or “sunroof.” Certainmedia files may also include auctioneer announcements related tofinancial aspects of a vehicle, such as “clean title.” It will beappreciated that the media files may include any number of auctioneerphrases, announcements, calls and/or the like. Furthermore, the mediafiles may include auctioneer phrases corresponding to differentauctioneer voices, languages, accents, and/or the like.

To this end, the bidder module 110 may execute playback of a sequence ofone or more of these media files in order to generate an acoustic outputof one or more auctioneer phrases. In other words, playing the mediafiles in a particular sequence may result in a naturalistic soundingauctioneer, which mimics the flow and timing of a live auctioneer. Forinstance, the bidder module 110 may receive an indication of an auctionevent that includes an auction call for more bids. In someimplementations, the indication may include auction event informationidentifying the vehicle, auction bid amount, and auction call type. Thebidder module 110 may identify, based on the auction event information,media files associated with the phrases “do I hear a,” “Honda Accord,”“for,” “the,” and “thirty-five.” Moreover, the bidder module 110 maydetermine a sequence of playing the identified media files that mayresult in the playback of the announcement, “Do I hear a thirty-five forthe Honda Accord?”

Referring again to the bidder device 102, the one or more network andI/O interfaces 114 may include one or more communication interfaces ornetwork interface devices to provide for the transfer of data betweenthe bidder device 102 and another device (e.g., network server) via oneor more networks, such as 118. The communication interfaces may include,but are not limited to: personal area networks (PANs), wired local areanetworks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless widearea networks (WWANs), and so forth. The bidder device 102 may becoupled to the network via a wired or wireless connection. Wirelesssystem interfaces may include the hardware and software to broadcast andreceive messages either using the Wi-Fi Direct Standard (see Wi-FiDirect specification published in Oct. 2010) and/or the IEEE 802.11wireless standard (see IEEE 802.11-2007, published Mar. 8, 2007; IEEE802.11n-2009, published October 2009), or a combination thereof. Thewireless system (not shown) may include a transmitter and a receiver ora transceiver (not shown) capable of operating in a broad range ofoperating frequencies governed by the IEEE 802.11 wireless standards.The communication interfaces may utilize acoustic, radio frequency,optical, or other signals to exchange data between the bidder device 102and another device, such as an access point, a host computer, a server,a router, a reader device, and the like. The networks 118 may include,but are not limited to, the Internet, a private network, a virtualprivate network, a wireless wide area network, a local area network, ametropolitan area network, a telephone network, and so forth.

The display 116 may include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystaldisplay, a light-emitted diode display, or an E-Ink™ display as made byE Ink Corp. of Cambridge, Mass. The display 116 may be used to showcontent to a user in the form of text, images, or video. In certaininstances, the display 116 may also operate as a touch screen displaythat may enable the user to initiate commands or operations by touchingthe screen using certain finger or hand gestures.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, one or more service providerserver(s) 120 may also be in communication with the network(s) 118. Theservice provider server(s) 120 may also include processor(s) 122 andmemory 124, which may store an operating system (O/S) 126, a databasemanagement system (DBMS) 128, and an auction module 130.

The computer processors 122 may comprise one or more cores and may beconfigured to access and execute (at least in part) computer-readableinstructions stored in the memory 124. The one or more computerprocessors 122 may include, without limitation: a central processingunit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction setcomputer (RISC), a complex instruction set computer (CISC), amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, a field programmable gate array(FPGA), or any combination thereof. The service provider server 120 mayalso include a chip set (not shown) for controlling communicationsbetween the one or more processors 122 and one or more of the othercomponents of the service provider server 120. In certain embodiments,the service provider server 120 may be based on an Intel® architectureor an ARM® architecture, and the processor(s) and chipset may be from afamily of Intel® processors and chipsets. The one or more processors 122may also include one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs) or application-specific standard products (ASSPs) for handlingspecific data processing functions or tasks.

The memory 124 may include one or more computer-readable storage media(CRSM). In some embodiments, the memory 124 may include non-transitorymedia such as random access memory (RAM), flash RAM, magnetic media,optical media, solid state media, and so forth. The memory 124 may bevolatile (in that information is retained while providing power) ornon-volatile (in that information is retained without providing power).Additional embodiments may also be provided as a computer programproduct including a transitory machine-readable signal (in compressed oruncompressed form). Examples of machine-readable signals include, butare not limited to, signals carried by the Internet or other networks.For example, distribution of software via the Internet may include atransitory machine-readable signal. Additionally, the memory 124 maystore an operating system 126 that includes a plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions that may be implemented by the computerprocessor to perform a variety of tasks to operate the interface(s) andany other hardware installed on the service provider server 120. Thememory 124 may also store content that may be displayed by the serviceprovider server 120 or transferred to other devices (e.g., headphones)to be displayed or played by the other devices. The memory 124 may alsostore content received from the other devices. The content from theother devices may be displayed, played, or used by the service providerserver 120 to perform any necessary tasks or operations that may beimplemented by the computer processor or other components in the serviceprovider server 120.

The DBMS 128 stored in memory 124 may be configured to supportfunctionality for accessing, retrieving, storing, and/or manipulatingdata stored in external datastore(s) (e.g., service provider datastore131), data stored in the memory 124, and/or data stored in the datastore131. The DBMS 128 may use any of a variety of database models (e.g.,relational model, object model, etc.) and may support any of a varietyof query languages.

According to one or more embodiments, the DBMS 128 may be configured tostore, retrieve, and/or otherwise access various data related tofacilitating media playback in online auctions from the service providerdatastore 131. For example, the DBMS 128 may be configured to retrieveand/or or store account data associated with a bidder 101. For example,account data may include contact information, finance optioninformation, credit information, vehicle purchase history information,vehicle browsing history, vehicle preferences, current vehicles beingviewed, account setting (e.g., notifications, etc.), and/or any othertype of data associated with the bidder 101. Furthermore, the serviceprovider datastore 131 may store information related various auctioninformation, auction event information, and/or media files. Forinstance, auction information may include information associated with atleast one of an auction identifier, a bidder name, a seller name, acurrent ask price, one or more vehicle attributes associated with thefirst vehicle, an auction location, a floor price, a target price,and/or the like. Auction event information may include informationassociated with at least one of a welcome announcement, an auction starttime, an auction initiation, a vehicle introduction, an auction bid, anew auction ask price, an auction call, a sold vehicle, an unsoldvehicle, a time remaining threshold, a sale call, an elapsed time withno bidding, an auction end time, a no-sale call, and/or any other eventthat may occur during an auction. Based at least in part on such data(e.g., the auction information and/or the auction event information),the service provider server 120 (e.g., via the auction module 130discussed below) may be capable of providing media files to variousbidder device(s) 102 in response to one or more auction events during anonline auction.

The memory may also include an auction module 130. The auction module130 may be configured to communicate with the bidder device(s) 102 andthe seller device(s) 138 in order to facilitate the operation of one ormore online vehicle auctions. For instance, during an online vehicleauction, the auction module 130 may be configured to detect anoccurrence of an auction event. Upon detecting the auction event, theauction module 130 may determine auction event information associatedwith the auction event and current auction information associated withthe online vehicle auction. The auction event information may indicate atype of auction event (e.g., a welcome announcement, an auction starttime, a vehicle introduction, an auction bid, a new auction ask price, asold vehicle, an unsold vehicle, a time remaining threshold, an elapsedtime with no bidding, an auction end time, advertisements, vehiclefeature announcements, banter, no sale, bidder name, meeting green lightconditions (NAAA arbitration eligibility), vehicle title attributes,and/or any other event that may occur during an auction). The currentauction information may include information associated with a currentstate of the online vehicle auction, such as bidder names associatedwith participating bidders, the seller name, the current ask price, acurrent bid amount, etc. Based at least in part on the current auctioninformation and the auction event information, the auction module 130may identify one or more media files for playback on one or more bidderdevice(s) 102. In certain embodiments, the one or more media files maybe one or more prerecorded audio files that include various auctionannouncements corresponding to the auction event. Upon identifying theone or more media files, the auction module 130 may be configured totransmit, stream, sequence and/or otherwise provide the media files toone or more bidder device(s) 102 for playback on the respective bidderdevice(s) 102.

According to one or more embodiments, the media files may be stored in aservice provider datastore 131. To this end, the media files may beaccessed by the auction module 130 via the DBMS 128. For instance, eachauction event may be associated with respective event identifiers. TheDBMS 128 may be configured to index certain media files by auction eventidentifiers such that different media files may correspond to differentauction event identifiers. For example, a welcome announcement auctionevent may be associated with a first event identifier, which maycorrespond to a prerecorded audio file that includes an auctioneer voicegiving a welcome announcement. On the other hand, another auction eventmay include a sold vehicle at the online auction. This auction event maybe associated with a second vehicle identifier, which may correspond toanother recorded audio file that indicates a vehicle has been sold. Insome embodiments, inactivity or a lack of auction events may correspondwith a trigger associated with one or more media files. For instance, ifthere is a lack of activity following the start of the auction for agiven vehicle that may correspond to the trigger for one or more mediafiles about certain vehicle attributes.

Furthermore, the datastore 131 may be configured to store other mediafiles corresponding to the current auction information (e.g., biddernames, bid amounts, ask price, vehicle attributes, seller name, auctionname, time, date, and/or the like). The media files may be combined withthe media files indexed by the event identifiers to form differentannouncements. For instance, a welcome announcement may be associatedwith a first media file that includes a welcome message and a secondmedia file that includes a seller name (e.g., the first media fileincludes the message, “Welcome to the auction presented by” and thesecond media file includes “Mike's Dealership”). Thus, in view of theoperations described above, the auction module 130 may be configured toidentify different combinations of media files based on auction eventinformation and current auction information. The different combinationof media files may correspond to different announcements, which may beplayed back by one or more bidder device(s) 102 and/or seller device(s)138 in response to different auction events.

For example, in some embodiments, the auction event may include anauction start time. As such, the auction module 130 may be configured toidentify one or more media files that include an announcement indicatingthat the online vehicle auction is starting or that the auctioning ofthe next vehicle is starting.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include a vehicleintroduction. As such, the auction module 130 may be configured toidentify one or more media files that include an announcementidentifying the vehicle. Additionally, the announcement may alsoidentify one or more vehicle attributes associated with the vehicleincluding, but not limited to, a make, model, year, mileage, trim,options, depreciation value, residual value, wholesale price, retailprice, geographic location, vehicle supply, vehicle demand, and/or thelike.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include an auction bidrequest. For example, the auction module 130 may receive an indicationto request auction bids from the participating bidder(s) 101 (e.g.,requesting bids at the next bid increment). As such, the auction module130 may be configured to identify one or more media files that includean announcement requesting auction bids from the bidders 101 and/orbidder device(s) 102.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include a sold vehicle. Assuch, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify one or moremedia files that include an announcement indicating that a particularvehicle has been sold. Additionally, the announcement may indicate thebidder name of the winning bidder and/or thank the winning bidder.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include an unsold vehicle.As such, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify one ormore media files that include an announcement indicating that aparticular vehicle has not reached its designated floor price within anauction time frame.

In other embodiments, the auction event may be that a vehicle has notreached its floor price within a predetermined amount of time. To thisend, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify one or moremedia files that include an announcement indicating that a particularvehicle has not reached its designated floor price prior to a lull of athreshold length in the auction activity.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include a vehicle reachingits floor price. As such, the auction module 130 may be configured toidentify one or more media files that indicate that the floor price forthe vehicle has been reached. Furthermore, the one or more media filesmay also indicate that certain bidder should participate in the auctionsince the floor price has been reached.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include a time remainingthreshold. As such, the auction module 130 may be configured to identifyone or more media files that include an announcement indicating anamount of time remaining for the auction. Alternatively and/oradditionally, the announcement may indicate an amount of time remainingfor a particular vehicle to receive bids.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include an elapsed time withno bidding. As such, the auction module 130 may be configured toidentify one or more media files that include an announcement for thepurpose of enticing new bids. For instance, the announcement may includeone or more features associated with the vehicle being presented (e.g.,vehicle specifications, vehicle options, and/or other vehicleattributes). As another example, the announcement may include reviewsand/or ratings associated with the vehicle.

In other embodiments, the auction event may include an auction end time.As such, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify one ormore media files that include an announcement indicating that the onlinevehicle auction has ended. In yet other embodiments, the system maydetermine that an auction floor has been exceeded and that there is alull of at least a threshold value in the auction activity. In responseto such lull, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify oneor more media files indicating the highest bid and indicating that theauction is about to close and/or calling for final bids. Such mediafiles may also correspond to phrases that may be used to entice furtherbidding (e.g., conversational phrases such as “come on you guys”).Additionally, the threshold value of the lull (e.g., a predeterminedamount of time) may be determined dynamically depending on context. Forinstance, the auction module 130 may determine that a large amount ofbidding activity has recently occurred between a relatively large numberof bidders. Accordingly, the auction module 130 may determine that morebidding activity may be likely to occur. As a result, the auction module130 may determine the threshold value of the lull to be relatively high.On the other hand, the auction module 130 may determine that biddingactivity has slowed to between a relatively low number of bidders. Insuch a scenario, the auction module 130 may determine the thresholdvalue of the lull to be relatively low.

According to some embodiments, an auction event may include a period ofinactivity after announcing the initial asking but before a first bidhas been submitted for a vehicle. To this end, the auction module 130may be configured to automatically lower the initial asking by apredetermined amount (e.g., such as an amount indicated by a sellerdevice 138).

In other embodiments, the auction event may include advertisements. Assuch, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify one or moremedia files that include an announcement indicating the advertisement.

In some instances, it may be cost prohibitive to fly an auctioneer to alocation. In such a case, there may be an auction administrator or blockclerk at the site who may enter the incremental bids on variousvehicles, e.g., likely by hitting a bid button, but the auction chantwould be provided using the same logic that drives the online variation.Of course, not only could there be in person bidders, but also onlinebidders.

In another embodiment, a mobile auction may be conducted in which theonsite bidders could be issued paddles or the like that could beidentified via sensors or cameras when waived or raised to indicate anintention to bid. In that way, the block clerk could be cut out of theprocess and the auction could be administered automatically. The bidderscould also log their bids via mobile devices as if they were remoteparticipants.

In some embodiments, the auction module 130 may also determine, for aparticular auction, that one or more bidders may be interested in avehicle that is not included in the auction. Thus, the auction module130 may be configured to add the vehicle to the auction. The addition ofthe vehicle to the auction may be contingent upon receivingauthorizations from the auction seller to add vehicles to the auctionand the seller of the vehicle to place the vehicle in a differentauction.

As noted above, the DBMS 128 stored in memory 124 may be configured tosupport functionality for accessing, retrieving, tracking, storing,and/or manipulating data stored in external datastore(s) (e.g., serviceprovider datastore 131), data stored in the memory 124, and/or datastored in the datastore 131. In some instances, the datastore 131 and/orthe memory 124 may be configured to compile, track, and/or storeinformation associated with the bidders 101. For example, the datastore131 and/or memory 124 may include bidder information, such as contactinformation, finance option information, credit information, vehiclepurchase history information, vehicle browsing history, vehiclepreferences, current vehicles being viewed, account setting (e.g.,notification settings, etc.), bidding history, bidding preferences,and/or any other type of data associated with the bidders 101. Based onsuch information, the auction module 130 may determine that one or moreof the bidders 101 may be interested in a certain category of vehiclesor a specific make and model. In response, the auction module 130 may beconfigured to setup an auction sua sponte that is directed to suchbidders 101 and invite such bidders 101 to participate in the auction.

For example, a number of bidders 101 may be logged into the system. Theauction module 130 may determine, based on the bidder informationdiscussed above, that many of the logged-in bidders 101 have in the pastand/or are currently looking for a particular type of vehicle (e.g.,Ford trucks, SUVs, high-end vehicles, etc.). Based on this information,the auction module 130 may query and filter the various seller databasesto see how many vehicles (e.g., Ford trucks) fit the auction criteriaand are available for auction. The auction module 130 may compile allavailable vehicles (e.g., Ford trucks) that fit the auction criteriainto a single auction. In some instances, the addition of the specificvehicles to the auction may be contingent upon receiving approval and/orpreauthorization from the auction seller to add vehicles to the auction.The auction module 130 may notify the logged-in bidders 101 regardingthe time of the auction and invite them to participate. In addition, asadditional bidders 101 log into the system, the auction module maydetermine if they too should be invited into the auction based on theirpast and/or current vehicle preferences. A threshold number of bidders101 may be required to share a common vehicle preference before theauction module 130 sets up an auction. The auctions may be considereddynamic and/or spontaneous since they occur based on currently logged-inbidders 101 and may change in size or type of vehicles being sold inresponse to additional bidders 101 logging in and/or logging out.

In some instances, the timing of the auction may depend on how manybidders 101 are likely to be available for the auction. For example, theauction may take place immediately if enough bidders 101 are logged intothe auction. The bidders 101 may choose to participate in the auction,which may include vehicles geared towards their preferences. Moreover,in some instances, the auction module 130 may provide a notification toother bidders 101 whose profiles indicate that they would be interestedin the auction of vehicles but are not currently logged into the system.In such instances, based on the bidders 101 account settings, theauction module 130 may provide push notifications (e.g., text) or othernotifications (e.g., email, phone call, etc.) to the bidders 101. Inthis manner, the auction module 130 may pick a date, time, andvehicle(s) for auction based on bidder information and bidderpreferences. The auction module 130 also may dynamically invite bidders101 to join the auction if their bidder information indicates that theywould likely participant in the auction. The auction may take placeimmediately, if enough bidders 101 are available, or at a future time.In some instances, the auction may be defined as spontaneous since it isat least partially based on currently logged-in bidders.

The auction module 130 may be configured to setup an auction for anyreason. For example, the auction module 130 may setup an auction basedon a time interval, such as every hour. In some instances, the auctionmodule 130 may provide push notifications (e.g., text) or othernotifications (e.g., email, phone call, etc.) to the bidders 101 priorto the start of an auction.

In some embodiments, the auction module 130 may be configured to setupmultiple auctions at a time. For example, multiple spontaneous auctionsmay occur simultaneously. That is, the auction module 130 may determine,based on the bidder information discussed above, that many of thelogged-in bidders 101 have in the past and/or are currently looking fortwo or more particular types of vehicles (e.g., Ford trucks, SUVs,high-end vehicles, etc.). Based on this information, the auction module130 may query and filter the various seller databases to see how manyvehicles fit the auction criteria and are available for auction. Inother embodiments, multiple spontaneous auctions with overlapping typesof vehicles may run simultaneously, and for vehicles within anoverlapping region, both auctions participants (bidders 101) may viewand bid on the same vehicles. In other instances, the system maydetermine that there is overlapping interest between the logged-in usersfor two or more sales, and may therefore determine not to runsimultaneous sales, but rather to run staggered sales. That is, thesystem may determine that there are threshold numbers of usersinterested in Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Silverados, however there area number of users interested in both sales, and therefore holdingstaggered sales will achieve better participation and marketing pricerealization.

In some instances, the auction module 130 may be configured to identifya threshold number of bidders 101 logged into the website that areviewing similar types of vehicle inventory (e.g., the same make andmodel or similar makes and models). The auction module 130 may notifythe bidders 101 that a dynamic auction will begin within a period oftime, automatically preparing a run list for the sale and making the runlist inventory available for user review, and then beginning the virtualonline auction. In some embodiments, the inventory stocked into the salemay vary based on the bidding activity. For example, if a 2013 NissanMaxima performs exceedingly well or attracts a higher proportion ofbidders 101 than the system predicted, additional 2013 Nissan Maximasmay be added to the sale. In another embodiment, the vehicles placedinto the auction may not all be from one auction platform. Instead, in amulti-platform environment, the system may identify that there aresufficient bidders 101 on one system (and predict users on othersystems) or may identify users across multiple systems and then launch avirtual auction. The inventory in this virtual auction could come fromseveral different auction systems (e.g., OVE, OpenLane, AuctionEdge,etc.). In some embodiments, the size of the virtual sale (i.e., thenumber of units) may vary in relation to the number of bidders 101online that have indicated an interest in that particular style ofvehicle.

In addition, in some instances, the auction module 130 may be configuredto dynamically add and/or remove vehicles from a dynamic auction runlist based on the current and/or prior bidding activity. For example, asdiscussed above, if a certain type, make, and/or model of vehicleperforms exceedingly well or attracts a higher proportion of bidders 101than the system predicted, additional vehicles of a similar type, make,and/or model may be added to the dynamic run list. More so, the run listmay dynamically change as different bidders 101 join and leave theauction. For example, as different bidders 101 join or leave theauction, the common vehicle preferences of the collective group ofbidders 101 in the auction may change. In this manner, the auctionmodule 130 may determine, based on the bidder information and priorbidding activity discussed above, that many of the bidders 101 in theauction have in the past and/or are currently looking for and/or havebid on a particular type of vehicle (e.g., Ford trucks, SUVs, high-endvehicles, etc.). As a result, the system may dynamically change the runorder of the vehicles to attract a higher proportion bids on thevehicles and to maintain the interest of the bidders 101 so that they donot leave the auction. That is, the dynamic rearrangement of the runlist of the action may increase bidding and/or interest by the bidders101.

Sellers who list vehicles for sale on the auction platforms may selectwhether or not their vehicles may be added to these dynamic, virtualsales. Further, in some embodiments, the sellers may select thethreshold levels at which their vehicles may be added to the virtualsales.

The system may pull inventory for addition to the virtual sale frominventory that is online in timed or other auction systems. Thisinventory may feature an icon that indicates that it may be pulled intosuch an auction. In that case, the last bid from the timed auctionbecomes the floor price, and any proxy bids would remain in force and beentered in response to the live bidding environment.

Moreover, it will be appreciated that for a particular auction event,the auction module 130 may be configured to identify different sets ofmedia files for playback for different bidder devices 102. As a result,the auction module 130 may enable different users of the bidder devices102 to experience personalized auctioneer announcements that may berelevant to the users' situations. For example, consider a scenario inwhich Jane has submitted the highest bid, which outbids Steve's secondhighest bid. The auction nodule 130 may identify a first set of mediafiles that when played back (e.g., in a sequence determined by theauction module 130 and/or bidder module 110 on Steve's device) bySteve's device, may announce to Steve that he has been outbid and toencourage him to keep bidding. Meanwhile, the auction module 130 mayidentify a second set of media files that when played back on Jane'sdevice (e.g., in a sequence determined by the auction module 130 and/orbidder module 110 on Jane's device), may announce that Jane has thecurrent top bid.

According to certain embodiments, the auction module 130 may also beconfigured to receive analytics information associated with variousauction events. For example, the auction module 130 may receive and/orgather analytics information associated with auctioneer accents, thepace of playback for media files, the types of phrases played back,and/or the like that are identified in response to certain auctionevents. For example, the auction module 130 may receive feedback (e.g.,sales data, ratings data, and/or the like) indicating that southernaccents are particular popular or unpopular with respect to differentaudiences, particular users, and/or in general. Such feedback may enablethe auction module to learn more effective data associations betweenauction events and response to those auction events. Furthermore, suchdata associations may be determined with respect to particular usersand/or with respect to groups of users.

In addition, the auction module 130 may be configured to receive and/orgather analytics information with respect to different vehiclecharacteristics (e.g., make, model, etc.). For example, certain modelsof vehicles uniformly include a particular feature, such as navigation.The auction module 130 may receive and/or gather analytics informationindicating such characteristics of those models. As a result, theauction module 130 may avoid identifying media files that correspond tocalling out the navigation feature for those models.

Additionally, it will appreciated that the auction module 130 may beconfigured to facilitate the playback of media files associated withauction events for multiple auctions simultaneously.

Referring again to the service provider server(s) 120, the one or morenetwork and I/O interfaces 132 may include one or more communicationinterfaces or network interface devices to provide for the transfer ofdata between the bidder device 102 and another device (e.g., networkserver) via one or more networks, such as 118. The communicationinterfaces may include, but are not limited to: personal area networks(PANs), wired local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks(WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and so forth. The bidderdevice 102 may be coupled to the network via a wired connection.However, the wireless system interfaces may include the hardware andsoftware to broadcast and receive messages either using the Wi-Fi DirectStandard (see Wi-Fi Direct specification published in October 2010)and/or the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard (see IEEE 802.11-2007,published Mar. 8, 2007; IEEE 802.11n-2009, published October 2009), or acombination thereof. The wireless system (not shown) may include atransmitter and a receiver or a transceiver (not shown) capable ofoperating in a broad range of operating frequencies governed by the IEEE802.11 wireless standards. The communication interfaces may utilizeacoustic, radio frequency, optical, or other signals to exchange databetween the service provider server(s) 120, and another device, such asan access point, a host computer, a server, a router, a reader device,and the like. The networks 118 may include, but are not limited to, theInternet, a private network, a virtual private network, a wireless widearea network, a local area network, a metropolitan area network, atelephone network, and so forth.

The display 134 may include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystaldisplay, a light-emitted diode display, or an E-Ink™ display as made byE Ink Corp. of Cambridge, Mass. The display 134 may be used to showcontent to a user in the form of text, images, or video. In certaininstances, the display 134 may also operate as a touch screen displaythat may enable the user to initiate commands or operations by touchingthe screen using certain finger or hand gestures.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the system 100 may also include oneor more seller device(s). In general, the seller device 138 may refer toany type of electronic device, and, more particularly, may refer to oneor more of the following: a wireless communication device, a portableelectronic device, a telephone (e.g., cellular phone, smart phone), acomputer (e.g., laptop computer, tablet computer), a wearable computerdevice, a portable media player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), orany other electronic device having a networked capability. The sellerdevice(s) 138 may include one or more computer processors 140, and amemory 142 storing an operating system (O/S) 144 and a seller module146. In addition, the seller device(s) 138 may include one or morenetwork and I/O interfaces 148, and a display 148. In certainembodiments, the seller device(s) 138 may include one or more sensorscapable of gathering information associated with a present environmentof the seller device(s) 138, or similar hardware devices, such as acamera, microphone, antenna, a gesture capture or detection device, orGlobal Positioning Satellite (GPS) device.

As used herein, a seller may refer to a dealer/dealership, an originalequipment manufacturer, a rental car company, and/or any other entityhaving an inventory of vehicles.

The computer processors 140 may comprise one or more cores and may beconfigured to access and execute (at least in part) computer-readableinstructions stored in the memory 142. The one or more computerprocessors 140 may include, without limitation: a central processingunit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction setcomputer (RISC), a complex instruction set computer (CISC), amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, a field programmable gate array(FPGA), or any combination thereof. The seller device 138 may alsoinclude a chipset (not shown) for controlling communications between theone or more processors 140 and one or more of the other components ofthe seller device 138. In certain embodiments, the seller device 138 maybe based on an Intel® architecture or an ARM® architecture, and theprocessor(s) and chipset may be from a family of Intel® processors andchipsets. The one or more processors 140 may also include one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or application-specificstandard products (ASSPs) for handling specific data processingfunctions or tasks.

The memory 142 may include one or more computer-readable storage media(CRSM). In some embodiments, the memory 142 may include non-transitorymedia such as random access memory (RAM), flash RAM, magnetic media,optical media, solid state media, and so forth. The memory 142 may bevolatile (in that information is retained while providing power) ornon-volatile (in that information is retained without providing power).Additional embodiments may also be provided as a computer programproduct including a transitory machine-readable signal (in compressed oruncompressed form). Examples of machine-readable signals include, butare not limited to, signals carried by the Internet or other networks.For example, distribution of software via the Internet may include atransitory machine-readable signal. Additionally, the memory 142 maystore an operating system 144 that includes a plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions that may be implemented by the computerprocessor to perform a variety of tasks to operate the interface(s) andany other hardware installed on the seller device 138. The memory 142may also store content that may be displayed by the seller device 138 ortransferred to other devices (e.g., headphones) to be displayed orplayed by the other devices. The memory 142 may also store contentreceived from the other devices. The content from the other devices maybe displayed, played, or used by the seller device 138 to perform anynecessary tasks or operations that may be implemented by the computerprocessor or other components in the seller device 138.

The memory 142 may also include an operating system (O/S) 144, which mayprovide an interface between other application software executing on theseller device 138 and hardware resources of the seller device 138. Morespecifically, the operating system 144 may include a set ofcomputer-executable instructions for managing hardware resources of theseller device 138 and for providing common services to other applicationprograms (e.g., managing memory allocation among various applicationprograms). The operating system 144 may include any operating system nowknown or which may be developed in the future including, but not limitedto, any bidder operating system, any server operating system, anymainframe operating system, or any other proprietary or freely availableoperating system.

The memory 142 may also include a seller module 146, which may beconfigured to communicate with users of the seller device 138 and/or theauction module 130 of the service provider server(s) 118. In certainembodiments, the seller module 138 may provide a user interface, such asthe user interface 400 illustrated in FIG. 4, which enables a seller toinput various information for the purpose of scheduling and/or creatingan online vehicle auction. For instance, the seller module 138 mayenable the seller to select one or more vehicles, such as from theseller inventory 152, to include in an online vehicle auction.Furthermore, the seller module 146 may enable the seller to provide anauction name, an auction date, and auction start time, and/or any othertype of information related to an online vehicle auction.

The seller module 146 may enable the seller to select (e.g., via a userinterface) various preferences with respect to auctioning and/or sellingvehicles from the seller's inventory. For instance, in certainembodiments, the seller module 146 may enable the seller to indicatewhether the seller would allow having a vehicle in the seller'sinventory to be moved into other sales that may be initiated by anotherseller. To this end, the seller module 146 may determine (e.g., orreceive determination by the auction module 130 of the service providerserver 120) one or more recommended auctions and/or sales in which tomove certain vehicles of the seller. For example, the seller module 146(e.g., and/or auction module 130) may determine that an auction hostedby another seller may include bidders that have shown interest in aparticular vehicle owned by the seller. As a result, the seller module146 may recommend that the seller move the particular vehicle to theauction hosted by the other seller.

As another example, the seller module 146 may determine, based onvehicle characteristics and profile information of bidders at anauction, that a particular seller vehicle should be moved to theauction. Such a determination may be made dynamically, such as uponcreation of the auction and/or during any other time. Furthermore, theseller module 146 may also be configured to automatically add the sellervehicle to the auction. Such automatic additions may depend on priorseller authorization to do so, such as according to various rules andpreferences indicated by the seller.

In yet another example, the auction module 130 of the service providerserver 120 may communicate with various seller modules 146 of variousseller devices 138. As part of these communications, the auction module130 may be configured to determine a plurality of vehicles that arebeing offered for sale by the various sellers of the seller device 138.Furthermore, the auction module 130 may access vehicle informationassociated with the plurality of vehicles. Based on the vehicleinformation, the auction module 130 may be configured to identify asubset of vehicles to be combined into a single sale event.

According to some embodiments, the seller module 146 may also enable theseller to select (e.g., via a user interface) certain parameters and/orpreferences with respect to a floor price of one or more vehicles in oneor more auctions. For instance, the seller module 146 may enable theseller to select a preference to automatically sell a vehicle if thevehicle is within a predetermined range of the floor price (e.g., within$200 of the floor price). In some implementations, the seller module 146may enable to seller to select such a preference on a per-car basis.

Another preference may enable the seller module 146 to automaticallyconsent to certain sales of vehicles with respect to a profitabilitygoal of the seller being met. For instance, the seller may set aprofitability goal of $10K for a set of 20 vehicles to be sold. If theseller module 146 determines that the profitability goal has been metafter the sale of 15 vehicles of the original 20 vehicle to be sold, theseller module 146 may be configured to sell the remaining vehicles belowtheir respective floor prices. These automatic sales may be contingenton the total profitability for the seller remaining at or above the $10Kprofitability goal. In addition, the system may provide the seller witha guarantee run list price. The guarantee run list price may be thetotal sales price of all of the vehicles in a run list and/or the totalprofit (gross or percentage) for selling all or some of the vehicles inthe run list. In this manner, an online auction may be conducted inwhich the run list includes the seller's vehicles. Based on the vehiclesin the run list, the system may determine a guarantee run list price forselling all or some of the vehicles in the run list and provide thisinformation to the seller. If the seller accepts the guarantee run listprice, the system may conduct an auction of the seller's vehicles.During the auction, the system may dynamically determine the run order,the starting price, the reserve price, etc. for each of the vehicles. Inone example, if the system determines that the total sales and/orprofitability goal has been met after the sale of 15 vehicles of theoriginal 20 vehicle to be sold, the system may be configured to sell theremaining vehicles below their respective floor prices. These automaticsales may be contingent on the total sales and/or profitability for theseller remaining at or above the guarantee run list price.

In other implementations, the seller module 146 may be configured tonotify the seller that a floor price of a vehicle has not yet beenreached. For example, such a notification may be provided to the sellerif the vehicle has not yet reached the floor price, and if the auctionfor the vehicle is ending soon (e.g., there has been no bidding activityassociated with the vehicle for a predetermined amount of time). As partof the notification, the seller module 146 may also present the sellerwith the option of whether or not to consent to the sale of the vehiclebelow the floor price.

Referring again to the seller device 138, the one or more network andI/O interfaces 148 may include one or more communication interfaces ornetwork interface devices to provide for the transfer of data betweenthe seller device 138 and another device (e.g., network server) via oneor more networks, such as 118. The communication interfaces may include,but are not limited to: personal area networks (PANs), wired local areanetworks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless widearea networks (WWANs), and so forth. The seller device 138 may becoupled to the network via a wired connection. However, the wirelesssystem interfaces may include the hardware and software to broadcast andreceive messages either using the Wi-Fi Direct Standard (see Wi-FiDirect specification published in October 2010) and/or the IEEE 802.11wireless standard (see IEEE 802.11-2007, published Mar. 8, 2007; IEEE802.11n-2009, published October 2009), or a combination thereof. Thewireless system interfaces may also include cellular standards such asLong-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Global System for Mobile (GSM),code division multiple access (CDMA), and/or the like. The wirelesssystem (not shown) may include a transmitter and a receiver or atransceiver (not shown) capable of operating in a broad range ofoperating frequencies governed by the IEEE 802.11 wireless standards.The communication interfaces may utilize acoustic, radio frequency,optical, or other signals to exchange data between the seller device 138and another device, such as an access point, a host computer, a server,a router, a reader device, and the like. The networks 118 may include,but are not limited to, the Internet, a private network, a virtualprivate network, a wireless wide area network, a local area network, ametropolitan area network, a telephone network, and so forth.

The display 150 may include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystaldisplay, a light-emitted diode display, or an E-Ink™ display as made byE Ink Corp. of Cambridge, Mass. The display 150 may be used to showcontent to a user in the form of text, images, or video. In certaininstances, the display 150 may also operate as a touch screen displaythat may enable the user to initiate commands or operations by touchingthe screen using certain finger or hand gestures.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a diagram of a data flow 200 is illustrated forfacilitating media playback in online auctions in accordance with one ormore example embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 forfacilitating media playback in online auctions in accordance with one ormore example embodiments. The method 300 of FIG. 3 will now be describedin conjunction with references to the data flow in FIG. 2. It will beappreciated that while the following description may reference an onlinevehicle auction, any other types of online auction are alsocontemplated.

The method 300 may begin in block 310, where a seller may interact withthe service provider server(s) 120 and/or the auction module 130 tocreate an online vehicle auction. For instance, the seller device 138may transmit one or more selected inputs 210 to the service providerserver 120. In block 320, the online vehicle auction may begin.

In block 330, the service provider server(s) 120 and/or the auctionmodule 130 may detect an indication of an auction event during operationof the online vehicle auction. For instance, one or more transmissions220 from the bidder devices 102 may be identified as auction events(e.g., transmission of one or more auction bids). As another example,the auction module 130 may be configured to monitor 230 the onlinevehicle auction and determine/detect auction events as they occur or areabout to occur, such as a welcome announcement, an auction start time, avehicle introduction, an auction bid, a new auction ask price, a soldvehicle, an unsold vehicle, an time remaining threshold, an elapsed timewith no bidding, or an auction end time.

In block 340, the service provider server(s) 120 may determine (e.g.,via the auction module 130) current auction information associated withthe online auction and auction event information associated with theauction event. As such, in block 350, the service provider server(s) 120and/or the auction module 130 may identify, based at least in part onthe current auction information and the auction event information, oneor more media files. For instance, the service provider server(s) 120and/or the auction module 130 may be configured to access 240 theservice provider datastore 131, using the current auction informationand the auction even information, in order to identify the media files250.

In block 360, upon identifying the media files 250, the service providerserver(s) 120 and/or the auction module 130 may be configured transmit360 the identified media files to the bidder device 102. The bidderdevice 102 may then be configured to playback the one or more mediafiles in response to the auction event.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a user interface 400 for creating an onlineauction is provided in accordance with one or more example embodiments.In some embodiments, the user interface 400 may be provided to a sellerdevice 138, such as via the seller module 146. Furthermore, in certainimplementations, the user interface 400 may be presented on a web page,such as a web page provided by the service provider server 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user interface 400 may enable the sellerdevice 138 to input various auction creation information in order tocreate and/or schedule an online vehicle auction. As such, the userinterface 400 may include a name input field 410, in which a seller mayinput a desired name for an online vehicle auction. Additionally, theuser interface 400 may include a date input field 420, in which a sellermay input a desired date at which the online vehicle auction shouldstart. Furthermore, the user interface 400 may include a time inputfield, which may seller may use to indicate a desired time at which theonline vehicle auction should begin. It should be understood that whilethere may be a start time for the auction of each vehicle in an auction,or there may be a start time for the auction, and then each vehicle inthe auction will follow sequentially after the preceding vehicle hassold or been determined to be a no-sale vehicle.

According to some embodiments, the user interface 400 may also includeselect components 440A-D, which may be associated with respectivevehicles (e.g., identified by respective vehicle identification numbers(VINs)) in the seller's inventory (e.g., seller inventor 152). To thisend, the seller and/or seller device 138 may select a selectablecomponent 440A-D, to indicate a desire to include the correspondingvehicle in online vehicle auction. In other implementations, though notillustrated, the user interface 400 may also enable the seller to inputvarious pricing information associated with the various vehicles in theseller inventory 152. For example, the user interface 400 may enable theseller and/or seller device 138 to input a floor price associated with avehicle, which may indicate the lowest price at which the seller iswilling to divest the vehicle at the online vehicle auction.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure are described above withreference to block and flow diagrams of systems and methods and/orcomputer program products according to example embodiments of thepresent disclosure. It will be understood that one or more blocks of theblock diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theblock diagrams and flow diagrams, respectively, can be implemented bycomputer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of theblock diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to beperformed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to beperformed at all, according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a processor, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particularmachine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer,processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create meansfor implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagramblock or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be storedin a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram blockor blocks. As an example, embodiments of the present disclosure mayprovide for a computer program product, comprising a computer-usablemedium having a computer-readable program code or program instructionsembodied therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to beexecuted to implement one or more functions specified in the flowdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatusto cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed onthe computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or stepsfor implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block orblocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functionsand program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, can be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computersystems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, orcombinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While certain embodiments of the present disclosure have been describedin connection with what is presently considered to be the most practicaland various embodiments, it is to be understood that the presentdisclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but isintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangementsincluded within the scope of the appended claims. Although specificterms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptivesense only and not for purposes of limitation.

This written description uses examples to disclose certain embodimentsof the present disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enableany person skilled in the art to practice certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure, including making and using any devices or systemsand performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of certainembodiments of the present disclosure is defined in the claims, and mayinclude other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Suchother examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if theyhave structural elements that do not differ from the literal language ofthe claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements withinsubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating previously unscheduled,spontaneous online auctions, comprising: determining, by a serviceprovider server comprising one or more processors, bidder preferenceinformation; determining, based at least in part on the bidderpreference information, if a threshold number of bidders have a commonbidder preference; identifying, based at least in part on the commonbidder preference, one or more vehicles for an online auction thatinclude an attribute associated with the common bidder preference;inviting a number of bidders associated with the common bidderpreference to participate in the online auction of the one or morevehicles that include the attribute associated with the common bidderpreference; arranging a run list order in the online auction based onthe common bidder preference; and conducting the online auction.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: updating the arrangement of therun list order after the online auction has started based on currentbidding activity of the bidders.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: updating the arrangement of the run list order after theonline auction has started based on one or more of the bidders leavingor joining the online auction.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: updating the arrangement the run list order after the onlineauction has started to increase an interest of the bidders in the onlineauction.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting anindication of an auction event associated with the online vehicleauction for the one or more vehicles; determining current auctioninformation associated with the online vehicle auction; determiningauction event information associated with the auction event;identifying, based at least in part on the current auction informationand the auction event information, one or more media files for playbackon a bidder device; determining a sequence in which to play the one ormedia files; and transmitting, to the bidder device in response to theindication of the auction event, the one or more media files forplayback on the bidder device according to the determined sequence,wherein playback of the one or more media files according to thedetermined sequence results in acoustic output of one or more auctioneerphrases.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein transmitting the one or moremedia files comprises: streaming the one or more media files to thebidder device.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: selecting,based at least in part on the current auction information and theauction event information, one or more bidder devices from a pluralityof bidder devices; and streaming the one or more media files to theselected one or more bidder devices.
 8. The method of claim 5, whereinthe one or more media files comprise information associated with one ormore auction announcements.
 9. The method of claim 5, whereinidentifying the one or more media files is further based at least inpart on one or more auction announcement options associated with thebidder device.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein the auctioninformation comprises information associated with at least one of anauction identifier, a bidder name, a seller name, a current ask price,one or more vehicle attributes associated with the one or more vehicles,or an auction location.
 11. The method of claim 5, wherein the auctionevent information comprises information associated with at least one ofa welcome announcement, an auction start time, a vehicle introduction,an auction bid, a new auction ask price, a sold vehicle, an unsoldvehicle, an time remaining threshold, an elapsed time with no bidding,or an auction end time.
 12. The method of claim 5, wherein the one ormore media files comprises one or more prerecorded audio files, one ormore video files, or one or more text files.
 13. A service providerserver, comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory storingcomputer-readable instructions, that when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: determine bidderpreference information; determine, based at least in part on the bidderpreference information, if a threshold number of bidders have a commonbidder preference; identify, based at least in part on the common bidderpreference, one or more vehicles for online auction that include anattribute associated with the common bidder preference; invite a numberof bidders associated with the common bidder preference to participatein the online auction of the one or more vehicles that include theattribute associated with the common bidder preference; arrange a runlist order in the online auction based on the common bidder preference;and conduct the online auction.
 14. The service provider server of claim13, wherein the computer-executable instruction to: arrange the run listorder in the online auction based on current and/or prior biddingactivity of the bidders.
 15. The service provider server of claim 13,wherein the computer-executable instruction to: arrange the run listorder in the online auction based on one or more of the bidders leavingor joining the online auction.
 16. The service provider server of claim13, wherein the computer-executable instruction to: arrange the run listorder in the online auction to increase an of the bidders in the onlineauction.
 17. The service provider server of claim 13, wherein thecomputer-executable instruction to: detect an indication of an auctionevent associated with the online vehicle auction for the one or morevehicles; determine current auction information associated with theonline vehicle auction; determine auction event information associatedwith the auction event; identify, based at least in part on the currentauction information and the auction event information, one or more mediafiles for playback on a bidder device; determine a sequence of playbackof the one or media files; and transmit, to the bidder device inresponse to the indication of the auction event, the one or more mediafiles for playback on the bidder device according to the determinedsequence, wherein playback of the one or more media files according tothe determined sequence results in acoustic output of one or moreauctioneer phrases.
 18. The service provider server of claim 17, whereinthe computer-executable instruction to: stream the one or more mediafiles to the bidder device.
 19. The service provider server of claim 17,further comprising computer-executable instruction to: select, based atleast in part on the current auction information and the auction eventinformation, one or more bidder devices from a plurality of bidderdevices; and stream the one or more media files to the selected one ormore bidder devices.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring computer-executable instructions that when executed by one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to: determine bidderpreference information; determine, based at least in part on the bidderpreference information, if a threshold number of bidders have a commonbidder preference; identify, based at least in part on the common bidderpreference, one or more vehicles for online auction that include anattribute associated with the common bidder preference; invite a numberof bidders associated with the common bidder preference to participatein the online auction of the one or more vehicles that include theattribute associated with the common bidder preference; arrange a runlist order in the online auction based on the common bidder preference;and conduct the online auction.